Meteorologists say 2026 is off to an unusually active start in the western Pacific. The strengthening El Niño pattern has shifted tropical cyclone formation farther east over exceptionally warm ocean waters, allowing storms more time to intensify before reaching the Mariana Islands. So far this year, the Marianas Islands have already experienced two of the world’s strongest storms this summer: Super Typhoon Sinlauku and Super Typhoon Bavi.

Every tropical cyclone in the western Pacific receives its name from a rotating list maintained by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Typhoon Committee. Rather than using only people’s names, member countries contribute names drawn from their own languages, history, geography, culture, plants, and animals.

Several names on the list come from Micronesia.

• Sinlaku (Federated States of Micronesia) is named after the Kosraean goddess of nature and breadfruit, reflecting the importance of the natural world in Micronesian culture.
• Nanmadol (Federated States of Micronesia) honors the ancient stone city of Nan Madol on Pohnpei, one of Micronesia’s most significant archaeological sites.
• Soulik (Federated States of Micronesia) refers to a traditional chiefly title in Pohnpei.
• Tirou (Federated States of Micronesia) comes from the Chuukese language.
• Barijat (Marshall Islands) is the Marshallese word for shoreline (parijet), bringing to mind the waves and wind, a fitting name for a tropical cyclone.

Not every storm affecting Micronesia carries a Micronesian name. Bavi, for example, was contributed by Vietnam and is named after the Ba Vì mountain range northwest of Hanoi.